Download or read book Kin Recognition in Protists and Other Microbes written by Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2019-01-17 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kin Recognition in Protists and Other Microbes is the first volume dedicated entirely to the genetics, evolution and behavior of cells capable of discriminating and recognizing taxa (other species), clones (other cell lines) and kin (as per gradual genetic proximity). It covers the advent of microbial models in the field of kin recognition; the polymorphisms of green-beard genes in social amebas, yeast and soil bacteria; the potential that unicells have to learn phenotypic cues for recognition; the role of clonality and kinship in pathogenicity (dysentery, malaria, sleeping sickness and Chagas); the social and spatial structure of microbes and their biogeography; and the relevance of unicells’ cooperation, sociality and cheating for our understanding of the origins of multicellularity. Offering over 200 figures and diagrams, this work will appeal to a broad audience, including researchers in academia, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and research undergraduates. Science writers and college educators will also find it informative and practical for teaching.
Download or read book The Explosion of Life Forms written by and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the essential characteristics of living beings is the explosion of variety in their forms that is intrinsically linked to the diversity of the environments they have adapted to. This book, the result of collaboration between international specialists, analyzes the multiplicity of these morphologies. It explores the origin of forms, their role in defining living things, and the relationship between form and function. It exposes the role of genes and epigenetics and examines the forms of bacteria, protists and plants. The Explosion of Life Forms also studies the memory of animals and their sensory processes, the forms of robots (built in the image of living things), and medical technologies aimed at restoring damaged living forms. Finally, this work questions a common principle of construction in the diversity of forms, as well as the idea of an abandonment of the form, a possible hidden defect of some modern philosophies.
Download or read book Arrivals of Life to the Gal pagos written by Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2024-05-01 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C and Avelina Espinosa synthesize the events connecting the accidental discovery of the Galápagos Islands by Tomás de Berlanga in 1535 with Charles Darwin's exploration of the archipelago in 1835, Herman Melville's sketches of The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles, of 1856, and the geopolitics to control Baltra Island, or "The Rock", where the United States established a military base from 1942 to 1946, during World War II. These themes are intertwined with discussions about the historical cartography of the Galápagos Islands, the geology of the archipelago, the hypotheses about the origins of the Galápagos terrestrial and marine organisms, and comparisons between Galápagos and other archipelagos, particularly Hawai'i. Offering over 250 figures and diagrams, this work will appeal to a broad audience, including professors in academia, college instructors, study-abroad and international field-trip leaders (with destination Galápagos), science writers, and policymakers.
Download or read book A Synthesis of the Gal pagos written by Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2024-03-08 with total page 619 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are hundreds of books and thousands of scientific articles about the Galápagos. This volume is distinctive. The authors, Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C and Avelina Espinosa, synthesize, integrate, and conceptualize the most recent evolutionary-biology research being conducted in the archipelago’s terrestrial and aquatic environments; the conflicts resulting from human interactions with nature, including local population growth and tourism practices in the context of short- and long-term conservation efforts; and make predictions about the destiny of the Galápagos’ unique biodiversity and landscapes under various scenarios of climate-change impacts, urbanization trends, diversification of tourism, and conservation investments. Offering over 260 figures and diagrams, this work will appeal to a broad audience, including professors in academia, college instructors, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and research undergraduates. Another target audience is study-abroad and international field-trip instructors and their students who travel to the Galápagos year-round. Science writers and policymakers will find in this book useful information to discuss and debate about imminent environmental threats to afflict the Galápagos as a consequence of human population growth, tourism practices, and climate change.
Download or read book Comparative Psychology written by Mauricio Papini and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This revised third edition provides an up to date, comprehensive overview of the field of comparative psychology, integrating both evolutionary and developmental studies of brain and behavior. This book provides a unique combination of areas normally covered independently to satisfy the requirements of comparative psychology courses. Papini ensures thorough coverage of topics like the fundamentals of neural function, the cognitive and associative capacities of animals, the development of the central nervous system and behavior, and the fossil record of animals including human ancestors. This text includes many examples drawn from the study of human behavior, highlighting general and basic principles that apply broadly to the animal kingdom. New topics introduced in this edition include genetics, epigenetics, neurobiological, and cognitive advances made in recent years into this evolutionary-developmental framework. An essential textbook for upper level undergraduate and graduate courses in comparative psychology, animal behavior, and evolutionary psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience and behavioral biology.
Download or read book The Social Biology of Microbial Communities written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-12-10 with total page 633 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning with the germ theory of disease in the 19th century and extending through most of the 20th century, microbes were believed to live their lives as solitary, unicellular, disease-causing organisms . This perception stemmed from the focus of most investigators on organisms that could be grown in the laboratory as cellular monocultures, often dispersed in liquid, and under ambient conditions of temperature, lighting, and humidity. Most such inquiries were designed to identify microbial pathogens by satisfying Koch's postulates.3 This pathogen-centric approach to the study of microorganisms produced a metaphorical "war" against these microbial invaders waged with antibiotic therapies, while simultaneously obscuring the dynamic relationships that exist among and between host organisms and their associated microorganisms-only a tiny fraction of which act as pathogens. Despite their obvious importance, very little is actually known about the processes and factors that influence the assembly, function, and stability of microbial communities. Gaining this knowledge will require a seismic shift away from the study of individual microbes in isolation to inquiries into the nature of diverse and often complex microbial communities, the forces that shape them, and their relationships with other communities and organisms, including their multicellular hosts. On March 6 and 7, 2012, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop to explore the emerging science of the "social biology" of microbial communities. Workshop presentations and discussions embraced a wide spectrum of topics, experimental systems, and theoretical perspectives representative of the current, multifaceted exploration of the microbial frontier. Participants discussed ecological, evolutionary, and genetic factors contributing to the assembly, function, and stability of microbial communities; how microbial communities adapt and respond to environmental stimuli; theoretical and experimental approaches to advance this nascent field; and potential applications of knowledge gained from the study of microbial communities for the improvement of human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health and toward a deeper understanding of microbial diversity and evolution. The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary further explains the happenings of the workshop.
Download or read book Philosophy of Microbiology written by Maureen O'Malley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-08-28 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Filling a major gap in the philosophy of biology by examining central philosophical issues in microbiology, this book is aimed at philosophers and scientists who wish to gain insight into the basic philosophical issues of microbiology. Topics are drawn from evolutionary microbiology, microbial ecology, and microbial classification.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Ecology written by Brian D. Fath and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2018-08-23 with total page 2786 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encyclopedia of Ecology, Second Edition, Four Volume Set continues the acclaimed work of the previous edition published in 2008. It covers all scales of biological organization, from organisms, to populations, to communities and ecosystems. Laboratory, field, simulation modelling, and theoretical approaches are presented to show how living systems sustain structure and function in space and time. New areas of focus include micro- and macro scales, molecular and genetic ecology, and global ecology (e.g., climate change, earth transformations, ecosystem services, and the food-water-energy nexus) are included. In addition, new, international experts in ecology contribute on a variety of topics. Offers the most broad-ranging and comprehensive resource available in the field of ecology Provides foundational content and suggests further reading Incorporates the expertise of over 500 outstanding investigators in the field of ecology, including top young scientists with both research and teaching experience Includes multimedia resources, such as an Interactive Map Viewer and links to a CSDMS (Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System), an open-source platform for modelers to share and link models dealing with earth system processes
Download or read book Measuring the Evolution Controversy written by Avelina Espinosa and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2016-05-11 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reality of evolution is indisputable and, based on current scientific evidence, all people in the world should accept it as fact. Yet, only 41% of adults worldwide embrace evolution, and they do it under the premise that a deity created humans. One in every three people is a strict creationist who believes in religious scriptures concerning the origin of our universe and of humans, and explicitly rejects that Homo sapiens is an ape when, in fact, science informs us that humans’ closest relatives are chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans. Indeed, we are all apes. Why do people not accept evolution? In Measuring the Evolution Controversy, Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C and Avelina Espinosa postulate that the debate over evolution-and-science versus creationism is inherent in the incompatibility between scientific rationalism/empiricism and the belief in supernatural causation (religion and faith). Belief disrupts, distorts, delays or stops the comprehension and acceptance of scientific evidence. The authors refer to this proposal as the incompatibility hypothesis (IH), the conceptual foundation of this book. Paz-y-Miño-C and Espinosa explain that the evolution controversy is not only measurable descriptively, but also testable as in an ordinary field of science. To accomplish this, they examine three predictions of IH. First, chronological-conflict-and-accommodation (i.e. the historical re-emergence of antagonism between evolution and religion when advances in science continue to threaten the belief in supernatural causation; in such situations, creationists’ rejection of and subsequent partial acceptance of the new scientific discoveries are expected). Second, change in evolution’s acceptance as function of educational attainment (i.e. the positive association between acceptance of evolution and level of education). Third, change in evolution’s acceptance as function of religiosity (i.e. the negative association between acceptance of evolution and level of religious beliefs). By relying on an ample assessment of the attitudes towards evolution by highly educated audiences (i.e. research faculty, educators of prospective teachers, and college students in the United States) the authors characterise their understanding of science and evolution, personal religious convictions, and political ideology. The authors make recommendations for improving science and evolution literacy, as well as evolution’s acceptance, and conclude by forecasting a probable global socio-cultural landscape in which acceptance of science and evolution will take place.
Download or read book The Ecology of Predation at the Microscale written by Edouard Jurkevitch and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-06-29 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book will provide an update on our understanding of predator-prey through the prism of ecology, physiology, molecular biology, and mathematical modelling. The integration of these different perspectives while focusing on the microbial realm will highlight the importance of scale in ecological interactions, and their importance in applications. This book should thereby contribute to theoretical as well as to applied ecologists and microbiologists. Furthermore, the detailed but amenable chapters could serve as the basis of teaching advanced courses in (microbial) ecology and environmental microbiology.This work is a collection of articles that discuss microbial predation from a variety of perspectives. It provides the readers a concise resource describing factors that are critical for several different predatory microbes, including Myxobacterium spp. and Bdellovibrio-and-like organisms (BALOs), including the mechanisms involved, ecological conditions that adversely impact it and potential applications in aquaculture and bioproduction. The first half of this collection focuses more on ecological aspects of predation, with in-depth discussions on “wolf pack” predators, the presence and activities of predators in waste-water treatment plants and the role of intraguild predatory relationships, i.e., when two different predators are competing for a single prey but also interact with one another. The reader will gain a deeper understanding of the predatory mechanisms involved and their ecological roles. In the latter half, emphasis is given more to the application and limitations of predators. In addition to discussing secondary metabolite production within different microbial predators, the readers will also learn how predators are being used to purify secondary metabolites from prey. This section also discusses the expanding and promising role of predation in aquaculture, focusing on the application of predators to reduce pathogenic populations, but includes some important caveats for young researchers to consider and follow when working with Bdellovibrio. This work is written for both experienced researchers already in the field and for young scientists who are captivated by the thought of predation at the microscale and its growing importance within a wide-array of fields.
Download or read book Biocivilisations written by Predrag B. Slijepčević and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2023-05-18 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A brilliant book [that] shows a way out of the destructive trap of Anthropocentric arrogance."—Vandana Shiva, author of Terra Viva "An unusually thought-provoking and ambitious book."—Dr. James A. Shapiro, author of Evolution: A View from the 21st Century Biocivilisations is an important, original rethinking of the mystery of life and its deep uncertainty, exploring the complex civilisations that existed on Earth long before humans. What is life? Many scientists believe life can be reduced to ‘mechanistic’ factors, such as genes and information codes. Yet there is a growing army of scientists, philosophers and artists who reject this view. The gene metaphor is not only too simplistic but deeply misleading. If there is a way to reduce life to a single principle, that principle must acknowledge the creativity of life, turning genetic determinism on its head. The term biocivilisations is the acknowledgement of this uncertainty of life, as opposed to a quasi-certainty of the human position governed by a narrow time window of the scientific revolution. Life existed without humans for more than 99.99 percent of the Earth’s existence. Life will also continue without humans long after our inevitable extinction. In Biocivilisations, Dr Predrag Slijepčević shows how bacteria, amoebas, plants, insects, birds, whales, elephants and countless other species not only preceded human beings but demonstrate elements of how we celebrate human civilisation – complex communication, agriculture, science, art, medicine and more. Humans must try to adopt this wisdom from other biocivilisations that have long preceded our own. By rethinking the current scientific paradigm, Dr Slijepčević makes clear that a transformation – from a naïve young species into a more mature species in tune with its surroundings – will save us from our own violence and the violence we inflict on the rest of our living planet. "Read this book if you would like to understand the intelligence of living systems."—Dr Denis Noble, University of Oxford
Download or read book Modern Soil Microbiology Second Edition written by Jan Dirk van Elsas and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2006-12-21 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the ten years since the publication of Modern Soil Microbiology, the study of soil microbiology has significantly changed, both in the understanding of the diversity and function of soil microbial communities and in research methods. Ideal for students in a variety of disciplines, this second edition provides a cutting-edge examination of a fascinating discipline that encompasses ecology, physiology, genetics, molecular biology, and biotechnology, and makes use of biochemical and biophysical approaches. The chapters cover topics ranging from the fundamental to the applied and describe the use of advanced methods that have provided a great thrust to the discipline of soil microbiology. Using the latest molecular analyses, they integrate principles of soil microbiology with novel insights into the physiology of soil microorganisms. The authors discuss the soil and rhizosphere as habitats for microorganisms, then go on to describe the different microbial groups, their adaptive responses, and their respective processes in interactive and functional terms. The book highlights a range of applied aspects of soil microbiology, including the nature of disease-suppressive soils, the use of biological control agents, biopesticides and bioremediation agents, and the need for correct statistics and experimentation in the analyses of the data obtained from soil systems.
Download or read book Why Does Evolution Matter written by Gabriel Trueba and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolution is not merely a chapter in biology textbooks; rather, it is the mesh that embraces and connects every biological phenomenon; indeed, as Dobzhansky pointed out, nothing in biology could be understood without the evolutionary logic. The contents of this book highlight the importance of evolution in applied biological sciences such as agricultural, medical, environmental and the social sciences. Evolutionary science provides renewed ideas which can result in practical applications and tools that deal with current problems concerning humanity, such as disease, food production, and environmental destruction. Most of the topics in this book were discussed during the III Summit on Evolution which took place in the Galapagos Islands in June 2013, hosted by the Galapagos Institute for the Arts and Sciences and the Galapagos Science Institute, Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
Download or read book The Evolution of Social Behaviour written by Michael Taborsky and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can the stunning diversity of social systems and behaviours seen in nature be explained? Drawing on social evolution theory, experimental evidence and studies conducted in the field, this book outlines the fundamental principles of social evolution underlying this phenomenal richness.To succeed in the competition for resources, organisms may either 'race' to be quicker than others, 'fight' for privileged access, or 'share' their efforts and gains. The authors show how the ecology and intrinsic attributes of organisms select for each of these strategies, and how a handful of straightforward concepts explain the evolution of successful decision rules in behavioural interactions, whether among members of the same or different species. With a broad focus ranging from microorganisms to humans, this is the first book to provide students and researchers with a comprehensive account of the evolution of sociality by natural selection.
Download or read book The Social Amoebae written by John Tyler Bonner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-18 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Noted biologist and author John Tyler Bonner has experimented with cellular slime molds for more than sixty years, and he has done more than anyone else to raise these peculiar collections of amoebae from a minor biological curiosity to a major model organism--one that is widely studied for clues to the development and evolution of all living things. Now, five decades after he published his first pioneering book on cellular slime molds, Bonner steps back from the proliferating and increasingly specialized knowledge about the organism to provide a broad, nontechnical picture of its whole biology, including its evolution, sociobiology, ecology, behavior, and development. The Social Amoebae draws the big lessons from decades of research, and shows how slime molds fit into and illuminate biology as a whole. Slime molds are very different from other organisms; they feed as individual amoebae before coming together to form a multicellular organism that has a remarkable ability to move and orient itself in its environment. Furthermore, these social amoebae display a sophisticated division of labor; within each organism, some cells form the stalk and others become the spores that will seed the next generation. In The Social Amoebae, Bonner examines all these parts together, giving a balanced, concise, and clear overview of slime mold biology, from molecules to cells to multicells, as he advances some unconventional and unexpected insights.
Download or read book Microbes The Foundation Stone of the Biosphere written by Christon J. Hurst and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-05-01 with total page 684 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays discusses fascinating aspects of the concept that microbes are at the root of all ecosystems. The content is divided into seven parts, the first of those emphasizes that microbes not only were the starting point, but sustain the rest of the biosphere and shows how life evolves through a perpetual struggle for habitats and niches. Part II explains the ways in which microbial life persists in some of the most extreme environments, while Part III presents our understanding of the core aspects of microbial metabolism. Part IV examines the duality of the microbial world, acknowledging that life exists as a balance between certain processes that we perceive as being environmentally supportive and others that seem environmentally destructive. In turn, Part V discusses basic aspects of microbial symbioses, including interactions with other microorganisms, plants and animals. The concept of microbial symbiosis as a driving force in evolution is covered in Part VI. In closing, Part VII explores the adventure of microbiological research, including some reminiscences from and perspectives on the lives and careers of microbe hunters. Given its mixture of science and philosophy, the book will appeal to scientists and advanced students of microbiology, evolution and ecology alike.
Download or read book Wildlife Disease Ecology written by Kenneth Wilson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-14 with total page 693 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduces readers to key case studies that illustrate how theory and data can be integrated to understand wildlife disease ecology.
